By Olufemi Oni, Ilorin
The age-long rift between two chieftains of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kwara state, Alhaji Iliyasu Ibrahim and Chief Wole Oke, has finally been resolved, putting the party in a stronger position ahead of the 2023 general elections, particularly in Moro local government area where the the duo hail from.
The two APC chieftains, who had for years been at loggerheads with each other, at an empowerment programme organised by the Senator, representing Kwara North Senatorial District, Umar Sadiq, agreed to work for the reelection of Governor AbdulRazaq and other APC candidates in 2023.
At the empowerment programme, attended by Governor AbdulRazaq, aside from 170 Fulani women who received cash empowerment, several others got 500 bags of 10 kg rice, 20 motorcycles, irrigation equipment and fertilisers, while laboratory equipment were distributed to schools in the local government area.
Speaking on their reconciliation, Iliyasu described the coming together of the two of them as divine and an act of God, urging the people of the area to give peace a chance.
He said Governor AbdulRazaq has an unmatched record of achievements, saying what the Governor has achieved in three and half years have surpassed the 16 years’ records of the opposition.
For his part, Oke, recalled how the unity amongsts stakeholders in the local government aided the establishment of council years back.
He expressed optimism that sustained unity among members of the party would bring about more progress and development in Moro local government area.
Also speaking, Governor AbdulRazaq, who praised Senator Sadiq for empowering his constituents, expressed delight about the attendance of the two gladiators at the event.
He said: “More importantly is that our gladiators are here today, those who think we would go into the election battle divided and take advantage of it would be disappointed.”
He implored the two gladiators to continue to be shinning examples for members of the party, saying, “the younger ones are looking up to you”.
Senator Sadiq expressed delight that his N50m worth of empowerment programme had turned out to be a forum to further unite members of the party, describing it as “a bad day for opposition who thought we will go into election dvided”.
“Today is one of my happiest day in my political life because my desire has always been to see how we can improve our unity in Moro,” he added.